Warning: Some violence in this chapter.
No Man's Land
In the silence of the car ride to wherever Theo Rorp was directing them, Blaine couldn't help but wonder what Kurt was hiding from them. Kurt wasn't being very subtle about the fact that there was something else, something more, but Blaine had to believe that if it was something that would change the outcome, Kurt would have no choice but to tell them. He sat in the back of the car, running his fingers over the sheathed knife that Kurt had given him, and tried to recall every step that had led them to this point.
How many days had it been since Kurt had shown up in New York to visit? Since then, how many different aspects of their relationship had changed? They were equals, on common ground, looking down the barrel of a loaded gun for the most part. This definitely wasn't what he expected when he had told himself, after Matthew Drum, that he wanted a more mature relationship.
He had meant what he said though, that he loved Kurt. And Kurt's hesitance to say the words back wasn't offensive, didn't make Blaine think he didn't mean it when he said he felt it. Not everyone was as open with their feelings as Blaine, he understood that.
Blaine's fingers shook as he ran them over the knife once more, checking that it was secure and wouldn't fall out but still easy to get to. Kurt kept sending Sam looks, all three of them checking the route to wherever Rorp was sending them. Kurt, who had been tense since they left the warehouse, seemed to unravel a bit as he turned to face Blaine and Sam equally from the passenger seat.
"Before we get there, there is something that I-" Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a cell phone, leaving Kurt to curse under his breath as he pulled it out.
There was a moment that Kurt didn't look like he was going to answer it, maybe toss it out of the window, but he sighed and pressed the speaker button.
"I won't say anything about your little detour, for the sake of time. You are ten minutes out, so I expect to see you in that time. All three of you, no dropping anyone off anywhere. I think that you'll enjoy the surprise I have set up for you."
The moment the words were out, the dialtone came over. Kurt snapped his phone shut, looking as if he wanted to throw it out of the window, before reluctantly shoving it into his pocket. After a moment, where Sam and Kurt seemed to be having a telepathic word, Kurt turned to face Blaine as fully as he could.
"Stay behind Sam and I, do exactly as we say, and... Blaine, there are some things that Rorp might say about me. Just don't think poorly of me. If we get out of this, I promise to explain everything." Sam shot a look to Blaine in the rearview mirror, one that said that Blaine needed to put Kurt's mind at ease, no matter how he felt right now.
Scooting forward, Blaine pressed his lips to Kurt's temple, reaching up to wrap his hand around Kurt's and squeeze it tightly.
"We'll get out of it. All of us."
The rest of the ride was made in mostly silence, with Kurt and Sam whispering every now and then, most likely making battle plans. Blaine went back to wondering what it was that Kurt was worried Theo Rorp would say. Blaine wasn't very worried, there were things that he already assumed about Kurt's prior job, and he trusted Kurt. Trusted him with his life, trusted him with his heart. What more could Blaine need to know?
The GPS directed the group past the newly functioning bus station, which Blaine got a good look at as they turned down the gravel road near it. Not long after being on the gravel road, although passing all signs of civilization, the bus became visible, parked with its back end facing a grouping of trees, its front facing them.
"There will be at least one guy in the bus, a few in the trees." Kurt checked his pockets before hoisting his bag over his shoulder. Blaine's bag had nothing but clothes in it, but Sam motioned for him to put it on, while Sam did the same. That told Blaine that they weren't really sure what was coming next, but staying in the car might not be it.
"What about Rorp?" They were parked at a distance from the bus, watching for any movement. There were obviously people in the bus, moving around every now and then. Innocent people that had no idea what was going on.
"Probably not on the bus, possibly in the trees. Eyes open and try not to get separated."
The three stepped out of the vehicle at the same time, moving forward slowly. Sam would turn around every now and then, glance behind them, before continuing forward. Blaine caught Kurt's eye a few times, as he turned his head specifically to check on Blaine, but couldn't offer a reassuring smile. He didn't feel very reassured himself.
"Stop, don't come any further." A woman's voice, shaking and gravelly from crying most likely, came from the bus. Was the hijackers using the hostages as mouth pieces?
"What do you want?" Kurt's voice carried over the distance, still just far enough to not be able to make out any individual shapes in the bus, but they could make out the shadow near the door where the woman was standing. It looked like there was someone standing behind her, but Blaine couldn't be sure. He stuck his hand into his pocket, fitting his fingers around the handle of the knife, and waited.
"I want Kurt and Blaine to stay where they are, but I want Sam to come escort the hostages to safety." They were splittling them up. Sam spoke lowly to Kurt, pocketing one of his guns but keeping his other leveled, before heading to the bus.
Sam was almost at the bus, lowering his weapon just enough that he wouldn't spook any of the people in there, when Blaine noticed movement in the trees. Kurt must have noticed it too because he turned his head just the tiniest bit, his shoulders tensing.
"That's Rorp." The man in the trees motioned them forward, but Kurt didn't move for a moment. They watched Sam get on the bus and to start ushering the hostages out of the door, heading up the street towards them. Anothing glance to Rorp and the man was still motioning for them to join him, but there was something he was holding in his hand. Kurt's eyes widened, recognizing it for what it was in a second, turning back to the bus.
He opened his mouth, but Sam's name was barely out before there was a moment of deafening noise and heat, throwing Kurt and Blaine backwards. Blaine could hear the muffled screams of the people that had left the bus, maybe even the ones that hadn't gotten far enough away before the explosion. The only thing that Blaine could comprehend was that Sam was still on that bus.
He started at a crawl, trying to get up and get to the bus. Sam was in there and no, not like this, Blaine had to get him out, but Kurt was pulling him backwards, speaking to him but the words weren't registering. His ears were ringing and there was something suspiciously warm leaking over his eyes and nose, dripping into his mouth and tasting coppery. Blood. His blood. Either something hit his head or it bounced off the ground when the explosion threw them backwards.
Kurt's voice finally penetrated Blaine's haze, urging him onto his feet.
"He's gone Blaine, we have to go, come on." An explosion like that would draw attention, they weren't far enough away from the main road that no one would have heard it. Hell, some people might have seen it. They were pulling themselves away from the blast, towards the car, and once they got there, Kurt was leveling his gun up a moment before Blaine realized what was going on.
A man was leaning against the passenger side of the car, smiling politely at the two of them, as if he hadn't just blew up their friend. As if he wasn't the cause of all of the terror. People were running past them, screaming, trying to get away. In the distance, Blaine's foggy brain was able to recognize the sound or sirens.
"Get in the car. We have places to be." Kurt pulled Blaine to the driver side of the car, pushing him in the backseat, subtly tucking a gun into Blaine's pocket as he did so. It was bringing up flashes of Drake holding his hand around Blaine's, pressing down on the trigger, making Blaine shoot the woman that was standing across the room. He would have to choke back those memories if he wanted to live. He could dwell on them another day.
Kurt pulled himself into the driver seat, not pocketing his gun as he waited for Rorp to pull himself in.
"To the left of the burning wreckage, there is a dirt road. Come now Kurt, we don't have all day." The sirens were getting closer, and although Blaine turned, he couldn't see the source.
"Give me one good reason not to just shoot you right now." That forced Blaine to turn around, to see Kurt pressing his gun into Rorp's temple. The man, for all his bravado, looked a little shaken.
"Because if I don't arrive at the next destination in the next ten minutes, I've given my men the go ahead to turn your family and friends into a turkey shoot. Now drive." Kurt waited a moment before swearing and putting the car in drive, driving past the burning bus.
Blaine couldn't help staring at it as they drove past, seeing the people huddled around the back instead of escaping. There were a few bodies on the ground and-
Blaine had to look away. He couldn't bear the thought. Sam was gone. He could only imagine the pain that Kurt was feeling. Blaine hadn't ever really lost anyone, not someone that he was really close to. Kurt had told him about his mom, but that was as close that Blaine had gotten to feeling any sense of mourning, and it was for a woman he didn't know. Now Sam was gone.
"Left here, that's a boy. Now continue down this road and when you see a house, we'll be stopping there."
Kurt's knuckles were white where he was holding onto the steering wheel so hard. Blaine wanted to reach forward, place his hand on his shoulder, just so that Kurt knew he was there, but he didn't want to do that infront of Rorp. The man must have had a sixth sense though, because he turned around as if he knew that Blaine had been thinking about him, and smiled at him.
"It is a pleasure to meet the man that has stolen Kurt Hummel's heart, indeed it is. Of course I already know a bit about you. Your jobs, your schooling, your home life. Have you spoken to Wes since you up and left? I'm sure he's worried about you. He doesn't trust your boyfriend. Not that I blame him, I'm not sure I'd trust him either. Do you trust him Blaine?"
Blaine nodded, not trusting his voice. For as polite and harmless as he seemed, Blaine could feel the danger about this guy. He wasn't just dangerous because he was smart and knew all of this about them. There was something else there.
"There we have it, ladies and gentlemen. He trusts you." Kurt cast a glance over his shoulder to Blaine before pulling to a stop infront of a house Blaine hadn't seen them approaching. Rorp was the first one out of the car, smiling as he did so.
"Come along, come along, don't have all day." Blaine followed Kurt out of the car, gripping Kurt's elbow before they moved to the other side of the car.
"Nothing he can tell me will change how I feel about you." His voice was low, merely a whisper, but he had to say it. Kurt nodded, squeezing Blaine's hand before moving around the car and joining Rorp.
They followed the man into the house, Blaine noticing that there didn't seem to be anyone else there. It was eerily quiet and when he turned on the lights, Blaine saw that it wasn't even very furnished. A couch, a chair, a fridge in the corner of the kitchen. It seemed to have the bare minimum.
"Have a seat, make yourself comfortable." Following Kurt's lead, Blaine sat on the couch, just close enough that they weren't really touching. Rorp eyed them for a moment before sitting down in the chair across from the, crossing his legs over one another and smiling brightly, with a hint of hysteria behind it.
"What do you want?" Kurt, despite everything, hadn't released his grip on his gun. Blaine could feel the one he had put in his pocket weighing down his jacket, but he didn't move to touch it. He didn't want to unless he absolutely had to.
"Just to talk, Kurt. Isn't that what you said to me about Amanda? You just wanted to talk to her, I just want to talk to you and Blaine." A shiver ran down Blaine's spine at the tone, which despite the smile, was completely terrorizing.
"What do you want to talk about then?" Kurt was speaking through clenched teeth, his gun alternatingly pointing at Rorp and pointing at the floor.
"The past, Kurt. I want to talk about the past."
Blaine waited, trying to figure out where any of this was going, and turned in time to catch Kurt's back straighten and his shoulders tense. He was preparing for something, it was a stance Blaine had seen a few times before.
"Fine. Let's talk." Blaine was pretty sure he wasn't going to like what they had to say.
A/N: I'm so so so so very sorry about the wait. If you follow me on Tumblr, you'll know that I took a vague hiatus recently. From writing, from life if you would. And then afterwards I had to get myself back in order. However I'm back.
This is the climax. The next chapter is going to have a lot going on, explaining what Rorp is doing and how everything fits together. And then there will be another chapter as a conclusion, longer and smutty in places. So two more chapters.
Thank you for those that have stuck around to this point. You all are fantastic.
